The saga of the name Sheep follows a line reaching back through history to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It was a name for someone who worked as a person who worked as a mariner or as a ship-builder. Occupational names frequently were derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames. The most common suffixes for occupational names are maker, herd, hewer, smith, er, ing, and man.
The surname Sheep was first found in Herefordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sheep research. Another 56 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1664, 1662, 1664, 1632, 1680, 1603, 1658, 1639, 1712, 1673, 1743, 1635, 1653, 1665, 1667, 1670, 1676, 1678 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Sheep History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Sheep were recorded, including Shipman, Shippman, Chipman, Shipham and others.
Distinguished members of the family include Abraham Shipman (d. 1664), English first Governor and General of the city of Bombay (1662-1664.)
Thomas Shipman (1632-1680), as a Royalist poet, eldest son of William Shipman (1603-1658), an ardent Royalist with a small estate in Nottinghamshire. [1]
Edward Shippen (1639-1712), was an English-born immigrant to Boston who was whipped for being a Quaker, after which he was invited by William Penn to the new city of Philadelphia where he rose to become the second mayor of Philadelphia and progenitor to Continental Congressman William Shippen, Edward Shippen II, another...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sheep Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Sheep family emigrate to North America: